Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 66
* * *
‘Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble. Big trouble.’
Patter-patter-patter—
Sama Hyeon bolted through the darkness.
His lookout had seen them clearly enough.
The problem lay in his Martial Sense.
He hadn’t caught the presence of Byeok Gyotoo and Jang Hwajoo until they were nearly upon him.
He’d sent the signal far too late.
By the time Byeok Gyotoo and Jang Hwajoo slipped into the Kitchen House, Yeon-woo and Baek Yeol-han still hadn’t emerged!
‘Trouble, trouble, trouble…!’
There was only one thing Sama Hyeon could do now.
While Byeok Gyotoo was away, get word to the Director and bring him back…!
Bring him there!
‘Please, just hold on until then! Benefactor!’
Patter-patter—!
Running, running, he reached the Gyotoo Pavilion at last.
‘It has to be him. The Director. No one else will do….’
As he was about to step inside the pavilion, thinking only of summoning the Director—
“Who goes there?”
A voice emerged from behind a dark silhouette, freezing Sama Hyeon in place.
He went rigid, stock-still.
As he stood there, breath held tight, the owner of the voice drew closer.
‘S-Saryeon Gyotoo!’
The Instructor who’d been handing out rice balls to a few students this afternoon.
Gentle in appearance, yet beneath lay every manner of cunning and intrigue.
‘A person to watch!’
Of all times, of all people…!
While Sama Hyeon floundered, Saryeon Gyotoo approached him.
“You are….”
Naturally, the Instructors knew who Sama Hyeon was.
Whose son he was. Which family he came from.
Yet even knowing his lineage, Saryeon’s expression remained perfectly composed.
“What brings you to the Gyotoo Pavilion at this hour?”
Sama Hyeon lowered his head, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“The Director… I….”
“You’ve come to see the Director? At this time of night?”
Sama Hyeon nodded.
Saryeon’s expression grew troubled.
Of course, the Director was not someone one could see simply by wishing it.
Especially not to be summoned in the middle of the night because a single student desired an audience.
“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible right now. Is it urgent? Won’t you come back tomorrow? Or perhaps you could tell me what this is about first?”
Sama Hyeon’s predicament deepened.
He couldn’t be certain whether Saryeon Gyotoo was connected to the poison. But her blocking him from reaching the Director made her suspect.
If by chance she were involved in it….
‘She might kill me.’
Sama Hyeon pulled the Small Crown down slightly over his head.
His palms were slick with sweat.
* * *
Baek Yeol-han clamped his mouth shut again and held his breath.
“So, what needs to be handled?”
“The medicines we haven’t yet disposed of. As you know, there are too many eyes about for me to manage alone. I’d appreciate your assistance.”
“This is tedious. Handle it yourself. So where is it?”
“Right here.”
The two men stopped directly beside the table where Yeon-woo and Baek Yeol-han were hiding.
In front of the woodpile.
“We’ll need to move all these logs and then restore them to their original state….”
Crash-crash-crash—!
The sound of stacked firewood came tumbling down.
“W-What on earth are you doing! If someone hears this, what will you—!”
Fallen pieces of firewood tumbled beneath the table.
‘Ugh!’
Baek Yeol-han quickly drew his legs in, dodging the wood that had struck near his feet.
In that moment, Yeon-woo glanced back at him.
“Who would’ve heard—”
And though the other two couldn’t see it, Byeok Gyotoo had also witnessed it.
The way the rolling firewood had struck something and snapped unnaturally.
Mm.
Byeok Gyotoo dragged his lip.
His mouth curved into a thin, bloodless smile.
“But you know, is it really all right to leave firewood in a place like this?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t this location rather damp?”
“What do you—”
Byeok Gyotoo grabbed Jang Hwajoo by the shoulder, silencing his question, and shoved him backward.
Then, very slowly, he reached for the Kitchen Knife resting on the shelf.
“A food preparation area can’t be this damp. If it gets this damp…”
Byeok Gyotoo’s hand seized the cloth covering the table where the two were hiding.
“Rats crawl in!”
In one motion, he ripped the cloth away and brought the Kitchen Knife down in a vicious arc.
Clang!!
“Gasp—ahhh!”
The screech of blade striking blade split the Kitchen House.
At the same moment, the dishes piled atop the table scattered with a cacophony—Clang! Crash-crash-crash! Clang!—in all directions.
“Ho.”
Byeok Gyotoo gazed down with interest at the child who looked up at him with sharp, alert eyes.
“I suspected as much, but you’ve got quite good instincts. Blocking that, no less.”
The boy had defended himself against his strike—lethal intent packed into a Kitchen Knife—using nothing but a small Hand Axe.
The one who’d passed the first trial with overwhelming speed.
“Guan Yeon-woo.”
‘Or perhaps Lee Yeon-woo is the name to use.’
Either way, it hardly mattered.
He was someone who needed to be dealt with eventually. How fortunate that he’d walked straight into the jaws of the trap on his own.
Byeok Gyotoo smirked.
“A mere disciple would have no reason to be in the Kitchen House at this hour. Seems the daytime sweep was incomplete.”
* * *
Screee—grit-grit-grit-
The heavy Kitchen Knife pressed downward with tremendous force.
Yeon-woo, crossing her two Hand Axes to block it, furrowed her brow slightly.
“Good instincts, good strength. Born with Martial Talent. Which is why it’s such a shame.”
Thwack! Whoosh!
Byeok Gyotoo lifted the Kitchen Knife lightly, then brought it down again.
In that instant.
Clang!
Yeon-woo seized the fleeting opening.
Before Byeok Gyotoo’s Kitchen Knife could descend again, she struck the flat of the blade, twisted the trajectory aside, and pushed off the ground, rolling clear from beneath the table.
If she were merely hiding, the cramped space beneath would suffice; but if combat was coming, open ground was infinitely preferable to the confines of a table.
“Excellent footwork. This batch certainly brought in some fine specimens.”
Byeok Gyotoo’s gaze kindled with genuine interest.
Then it flicked toward a pair of trembling legs visible between the splintered remains of the table.
‘That one, is it.’
Baek Yeol-han.
The foolish boy who’d disrupted the sparring match with his absurd name instead of fighting properly.
The simpleton who’d been moved to tears by a few honeyed words.
And judging by how he was now cowering in the rubble—so unlike Yeon-woo—
‘Pathetic, truly.’
This one wasn’t worth the effort.
He wasn’t even worth paying attention to.
“Keep watch on him.”
“Y-yes? Me? You mean…?”
Startled, Jang Hwajoo stumbled backward as Byeok Gyotoo advanced toward Yeon-woo.
Kitchen utensils scattered underfoot produced a sharp, ringing cacophony.
Byeok Gyotoo raised the Kitchen Knife and stepped before Yeon-woo.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I was working with Jang Hwajoo.”
“Yes.”
“How did you figure it out?”
“Well.”
They smelled the same.
That was all there was to it.
Not for any grand reason like Sama Hyeon had suggested—simply because they carried the same scent.
Poison, poison-feeding, and all the rest aside—the moment Byeok Gyotoo and Jang Hwajoo stood side by side, they were already partners in Yeon-woo’s eyes.
But there was no way to explain the smell.
“It just looked that way.”
Byeok Gyotoo’s brow arched with surprise.
Yet he didn’t press further.
“It’s truly a shame. I have no particular attachment to the Instructor position, but you’re the first student I’ve wanted to teach.”
“You’re lying.”
Yeon-woo stuck out her tongue mockingly.
“You only had me do trivial things.”
The leather ball-tossing exercise from earlier—an entire Double Hour of it—had given Yeon-woo nothing.
She’d done it earnestly, thinking there must be some deeper purpose behind it, all the same.
“No matter how I thought about it, it was worthless. Wasn’t even fun.”
“Is that what you think? Unfortunate. I’d hoped you might grasp my deeper intention.”
“There was an intention?”
At those words, Byeok Gyotoo’s gaze turned cold and sharp.
Byeok Gyotoo raised the Kitchen Knife.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to die. Since you pleased me, I’ll make it painless.”
Whoosh—
Byeok Gyotoo lunged forward.
At that same instant, Yeon-woo widened the distance between them and, as though she’d been waiting, hurled everything within reach at him.
Clang! Bang! Clang!
A ladle, bowls, and Kitchen Knives—all flew toward Byeok Gyotoo.
He batted them aside with ease.
“You don’t actually think such trifles can stop me, do you?”
Swoosh—
“Come, try to block this!”
Shrill—
Byeok Gyotoo’s Kitchen Knife streaked toward Yeon-woo.
Snap! Crack—
Yeon-woo hooked the Axe on its sheath and swiftly grabbed the wooden cutting board beside her.
Gripping both edges, she raised it to shield her face.
Crash—
“…!”
Byeok Gyotoo’s Kitchen Knife slammed down hard on the wooden board.
The impact drove Yeon-woo backward.
So violent was the strike that a third of the blade’s length punched straight through the wood and stopped just before her eyes.
Watching it gleam with lethal brightness, Yeon-woo swallowed hard.
But shock gave way to action in an instant.
Twist—
Before Byeok Gyotoo could withdraw the blade, Yeon-woo wrenched the cutting board with all her strength.
“…!”
The sudden torsion snapped his wrist around.
Yet Byeok Gyotoo merely smiled and did not release the Kitchen Knife.
“Your combat ability is impressive too. Who taught you that?”
Crack, crackle—
In that moment, thick veins bulged across the back of Byeok Gyotoo’s hand as he gripped the Kitchen Knife.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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